Before announcing the departures assistants were notifying Penn State’s 16 commits of the staff changes while also trying to continue on the recruiting trail. Defensive coordinator John Butler is slated to visit cornerback commit Troy Vincent Jr. this week and earlier this week O’Brien’s staff also made a scholarship offer to 2016 running back Kareem Walker from New Jersey’s DePaul Catholic.

Penn State is also busy preparing to host the majority of the program’s 2014 commits as well as other prospects for official visits this weekend. Three commits, Tarow Barney, Mike Gesicki and Michael O'Connor already took official visits, but the majority of the other players are expected to attend.

So much for it being the offseason, right?

One group that is as close to being off as they ever get is the current football team. Players have classes this week and are beginning the usual end of semester crunch where they’re finishing projects and presentations and getting ready for final exams that begin Dec. 16. Players will resume their lifting schedules on Monday.

“We have the next week off and then winter workouts start,” freshman tight end Adam Breneman said. “I’m just going to have to rest and get my body right again so I can go into winter workouts 100 percent.”

Exams conclude Dec. 20 and players will head home, many of them enjoying their longest time away from State College since either last winter or the end of last spring, depending on their class schedules. The coaching staff now has to plan for a dead period in recruiting from Dec. 16-Jan. 15, a new change to the rules this year.

Spring semester begins Jan. 13 and by Jan. 15 Penn State should know whether or not Allen Robinson intends to stick around for his senior season. Underclassmen have until Jan. 15 to declare for the NFL Draft and the Big Ten’s top receiver for the second consecutive year has been projected as a first or second-round pick. Tackle Garry Gilliam, who was introduced on Senior Day but says he has a 10 percent chance of returning to play his sixth year, also falls into this category.

Barney will work out with his new teammates while senior tackle DaQuan Jones will be in State College preparing for the next step in his football career. Those steps will most likely include a trip to Indianapolis this February to the NFL Scouting Combine where he will be sized up by prospective teams.

“The next few weeks I’m going to take a week off from training, just focus on school right now and try to finish up,” said Jones who will be taking classes this spring. “I have some exams, I think three of them coming up, so just focusing on exams right now and after the fall semester is over then I’ll start working on getting back in shape for football training and stuff like that.

“I’m just going to take it step by step and I’m going to let it come to me. I’m not going to rush it.”